2005 Burgundies & Turkish at the Fox's

The Erobertparker bulletin board has been great source for information on wines from anywhere in the world, but far surpassing any tasting note or Cabernet recommendation is its ability to create new friendships. Last night Lenny and Susan Fox hosted a handful of winos in their beautiful home. Turkish cuisine and red Burgundies from 2005 was the theme. I have had many types of foods in my life, but never Turkish. I wish I could tell what I had, but it was all tasty and well prepared. Any country that has a version of pizza can’t be all that bad. I made some new friends, put some faces to familiar names, as well as seeing old friends again. It was a wonderful time and I want to thank Susan and Lenny for their graciousness in opening their home and making this possible.

Now onto the wines:
2005 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges VV; Medium dark color. The nose of red cherries and crushed stones. Smooth finessful tannins carried this along deftly. This was wonderful & elegant. A long finish completed the package. A stunner; 94/100 (My WOTN).
2005 Domaine Ligier Michelot Morey St Denis VV; A subdued nose of flowers and red fruits. This was very fruit forward, dark cherries & raspberries. Wonderful structure, chewy tannins, and a slightly raised acid level. A masculine St Denis. 91/100
2005 Domaine Jablot Givry “Clos des Cellier aux Moines”; this started somewhat awkward, but some time in the glass gave it grace. Amazing dark fruits and wonderful structure. Some tar and anise. A well-aligned tannin level wrapped around a refined (slightly elevated) acid level. This was a beautiful Givry. Very different than anything before or after it on this night. 93/100
2005 Domaine Joseph Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin “Leas Marchais”; this had the most wonderful nose of red cherries, and pebbles. A nicely balanced acid level combined with a nicely structured tannin level wrapped within layers upon layers of sweet red fruits. A dry finish hurt this a bit. 88/100
2005 Domaine Perrot-Minot Vosne Romanee; Some great black fruits and a nice balance of acid and fine intertwined tannins. This was a very clean Vosne, if not noteworthy. 89/100
2005 Domaine Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanee; corked
2005 Domaine Daniel Rion "Vosne Romanee Les Beaux Monts"; (thanks Suzanne for the name clarification as my notes were smeared). This was the funky wine of the night. There were some red fruits, but they were masked by the elevated alcohol and funky cellar floor. Wine like this I always attribute to sloppy winemaking techniques. N/A
2005 Maison Bouchard Pere et Fils Volnay “Caillerets- Ancienne Cuvee Carnot”; this was the most fragrant wine of the bunch; flowers, cherries, stones, and tar. Wow. A nice acid level alongside a sweet refined tannin level made this a pretty wine. Great structure and long finish. Did I say wow? 92/100
2005 Domaine Michel Magnien Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Seuvrees VV”; Sulphur nose that only opened up a bit with air. The darkest wine of the night. Once past the nose this had big chewy tannins and a bold structure of deep red & black fruits. (Super dark cherries and currants). Of all the night’s wines, this needs the most bottle time. Very masculine and brooding. 89/100

From this cross section of wines, I can humbly say the promise is real.
2005 will deliver for the patient, and not so patient. (for which I am usually the latter). Wonderful fruit and seamless balance is the recurring element in all of these wines. Anyone interested in getting to know Burgundies better will find lots to love here.